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Seven Sunsets

Even if we did not know who wrote the haikus of the volume Seven Sunsets, we would certainly recognize the poet by her distinctly unique style. The poet of Japanese haiku Sayumi Kamakura, winner of several prestigious prizes and awards for haiku, has again presented her readers with a lasting book. This volume marks the closure of a mature period in the author s career. The trilingual book introduces a peculiar dreamland with objects and natural phenomena coming to life and acting like humans. Poetry has always been related to the imaginary world of tales. Like in fairy tales, in these poems the author finds it natural to personalize the objects, the natural phenomena, even the notions, and make them behave in the most spontaneous way. In this universe humans, things and nature do not have separate lives. The wind, for instance, is lonely, the tulips take part in a running race, Orion wears socks, happiness has arms, the dandelion wants an e-mail before she flies away, the milk pours itself into the coffee while speculating. Everything is so obvious in this world! Even fairy tale characters live average lives. For example, Cinderella co-habits peacefully with the pumpkins.

Author BIO

Sayumi Kamakura

Sayumi Kamakura was born in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, 1953. She began composing haiku while a student at Saitama University and studied haiku under the guidance of Toshiro Nomura and Sho Hayashi. In 1988, she won the Oki Sango Prize. The lyrical style of her haiku attracted attention, and in 1998 she established the haiku magazine "Ginyu" with Ban'ya Natsuishi, and has been its Editor since that time. She has attended international haiku or poetry festivals held in Japan, Slovenia, Portugal and Bulgaria. In 2001, she won the Modern Haiku Association Prize. Her published haiku collections include: Jun (Moisture, 1984), Mizu no Jujika (Water Cross, 1987), Tenmado kara (From the Skylight, 1992), Kamakura Sayumi Kushu (Haiku of Sayumi Kamakura, 1998). Hashireba haru(Run to Spring, 2001), She co-authored Gendai Haiku Panorama (1994), Gendai Haiku Handbook (1995), Gendai Haiku Shusei Zen 1 Kan (Contemporary Haiku Anthology in One Volume, 1996), etc. She also published, in both Japanese and English, A Singing Blue: 50 Selected Haiku (2000). Her haiku has been translated into English, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, Portuguese and Korean. She is a member and Treasurer of the World Haiku Association. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_z0D5IZ6E